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Privacy notice

Your privacy is important to us and we take great care to protect it.

What information we collect and how

This site uses cookies, but they do not identify users and we only use them to gather statistical information. Unless input from a user directly into a form, the site does not capture and store any personal information about individuals who access it.

The information we collect via the Website may include:

  • Any personal details you knowingly provide us with through forms and via email, such as name, address, telephone number etc.
  • Your preferences regarding your use of email updates, (if you select to receive email updates on products and offers).
  • Your IP Address, this is a string of numbers unique to your computer that is recorded by our web server when you request any page or component on the Website. This information is used to monitor your usage of the Website.
  • Data recorded by the Website which allows us to recognise you and your preferred settings, this saves you from re-entering information on return visits to the site. Such data is recorded locally on your computer through the use of cookies. Most browsers can be programmed to reject, or warn you before downloading cookies, information regarding this may be found in your browsers help facility.

What we do with your information

Any personal information we collect from this website will be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, UK General Data Protection Regulation other applicable laws. The details we collect will be used for the following:

  • We may use your email address to send you information about products and services. In such a case you will be offered the option to opt in/out of these emails.
  • We may need to pass the information we collect to other companies for administrative purposes. We may use third parties to carry out certain activities, such as processing and sorting data, monitoring how customers use the Website and issuing our e-mails for us. Third parties will not be allowed to use your personal information for their own purposes. When we are sharing information with other organisations we will have an information sharing agreement or contract in place that ensures compliance with data protection legislation.
  • We use MailChimp and Dotdigital as our marketing automation platform. If you receive a newsletter from us, the information you provide when subscribing will be stored by MailChimp and Dotdigital in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms. You can change your mind at any time and unsubscribe.

We may also share your personal information when we feel there’s a good reason that’s more important than protecting your privacy. It is unlikely, but possible that we may share your information:

  • in order to find and stop crime and fraud; or
  • if there are serious risks to the public, our staff or to other professionals;

For all of these reasons the risk must be serious before we can override your right to privacy.

If we’re worried about your physical safety or feel we need to take action to protect you from being harmed in other ways, we’ll discuss this with you and, if possible, get your permission to tell others about your situation before doing so. We may still share your information if we believe the risk to others is serious enough to do so.

There may also be rare occasions when the risk to others is so great that we need to share information straight away. If this is the case, we’ll make sure that we record what information we share and our reasons for doing.

How do we protect your information?

We’ll do what we can to make sure we hold records about you in a secure way, and we’ll only make them available to those who have a right to see them. Examples of our security may include:

  • encryption, meaning that information is hidden so that it cannot be read without special knowledge (such as a password);
  • pseudonymisation, meaning that we’ll use a different name so we can hide parts of your personal information from view. This means that someone outside of the organisation could work on your information for us without ever knowing it was yours;
  • controlling access to systems and networks allows us to stop people who are not allowed to view your personal information from getting access to it;
  • regularly training for our staff allows us to make them aware of how to handle information and how and when to report when something goes wrong;
  • regular testing of our technology and ways of working including keeping up to date on the latest security updates (commonly called patches).

We only use what we need

We will only collect and use your personal information for specific reasons as listed above. If we need to retain your information for research or service planning reasons we will remove any information that identifies you personally.

How long we keep your personal information

Our services will need to retain your information for as long as they are working with you. Our records retention schedule sets out how long each service will retain information when the service ends. Legislation tells us how long we need to keep some information.

Access to your information

You have the right to make a request for personal information about yourself, or another person if they have given their consent. This is called a subject access request. Find out how to make a subject access request.

If you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your information, please contact us at ig@westofengland-ca.gov.uk or write to us at 70 Redcliff Street, Bristol, BS1 6AL and we will be pleased to help you.

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
K9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.

Alternatively, visit ico.org.uk or email casework@ico.org.uk.

Other websites

This privacy notice only covers this website. Any other websites which may be linked to by our website are subject to their own policy, which may differ from ours.

The Growth Hub privacy notice

The West of England Growth Hub (the Growth Hub) is hosted by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and Funded by the Government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Sharing your data with us is voluntary, and your choice to do so should be informed.

Before you choose whether you want to give your data to the Growth Hub we would like to explain a few things about our use of your “personal data” and how we will protect your privacy rights.

After you have read this privacy notice, and understood what it says, you will be asked if you would like to share your data with the Growth Hub. If you agree to proceed the Growth Hub Support Team will work with you to identify support services best suited to your needs.

You may request that we destroy your data at any time should you wish to.

Who are “we”?

WECA is the “data controller” for the Growth Hub. That means we have the responsibility for keeping your personal data safe, for using it lawfully, and for ensuring your rights to privacy are respected.

What is your “Personal Data”?

Personal data is information which is about you and which identifies you as an individual. This means it could be used to make decisions which have a direct impact on you. The purpose of this notice is to explain how we will use the information you give to us, and what we will use it for.

Data protection law sets down the rules for data controllers (such as WECA), and rights for the people (known as “data subjects”) whose information is held by them (such as you).

As a data subject, you have rights under the law of data protection. (the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)).

In line with these rules, we are registered with the Information Commissioner as a ‘data controller’. Our registration number is ZA277034.

Transparency: what we need to tell you

You have the right to be informed by us about:

  • What personal data we would collect from you
  • How we would use it, and for what purpose
  • Who we would share your information with, and why
  • Your other data subject rights and how to exercise them

Purposes: why do we want to use your information?

Our primary aim is to help you to reach your business goals and aid you in finding the best support to do so.

Successfully helping you further your business’ goals contributes to our broader aim of furthering the growth of the local economy throughout the West of England.

We report to BEIS. The purpose of this reporting is to inform the Government about the best ways of helping businesses in other regions across the country and to document the help we are providing. This reporting is not intended to have any impact on you personally, so it will not involve using or sharing information which can identify you.

What kind of personal data will we collect and record?

The Growth Hub Support Team will discuss a range of topics with you to build an understanding of your current business model, what you would like to achieve, and any challenges you feel your business is facing right now. This will include asking questions for which we will need to document the response. It may also include post-surveying in the case of a referral being made. This will allow us to further understand the impact of the support you have received. If you choose not to provide us with your personal data we will not be able to provide you with ongoing support.

The Growth Hub Support Team will document your conversations with us to record information which will be used to ascertain the best way to support local businesses. We will also keep records of any support services you choose to access, assistance provided to you, and your feedback on how helpful you have found our service.

The record of your Growth Hub journey will be stored by us on a secure computer system with all servers based within the UK. This record will include information which can identify you as an individual. The full categories of personal data we will hold are: your name, your job title, the address(es) of your business, your telephone number(s), your fax number(s), and your email address(es).

We will only use your personal data to contact you regarding supporting your business needs. This may include contacting you via telephone, email or post to advise you of events or services we can provide which may be of benefit to your business. You have the right to object to such direct marketing and can ask to cease receiving such contact at any time.

Confidentiality

We want you to feel you can speak freely and openly in discussions with the Growth Hub Support Team. Personal information which you choose to share with us will be treated as confidential. This means it will not be accessed internally by any of our staff, except where required to provide you with business support opportunities.

Sharing of your personal data with others

The Growth Hub Support Team will make referrals to private and public bodies offering support to help you achieve your business goals. If you choose to accept the referral to such external support providers, we may need to give the provider your name, job title and contact details so that you can be enrolled on, and contacted about the support service. The external support provider will not share your data with any other bodies. We will ask for your permission to share your data in such a way and advise the name of the body we are sharing your data with, and the reasons your data is being shared. We will obtain your consent for any such data sharing via telephone, email, the Growth Hub website, forms provided in person by a member of the Growth Hub Support team or written correspondence.

A full list of our of approved Support Providers can be found here.

Information about your engagement with the Growth Hub and outcomes from referrals to support providers will be shared with BEIS for purposes of preparing statistical reports about the success of the methods used by the Growth Hub and to evaluate our methodology. The information shared will not include your name, address, contact details or any data which may be used to identify you as an individual, or used to take decisions which may impact on you as an individual. We may also share such information with local authorities in which your business operates for the purpose of demonstrating our progress in supporting businesses and stimulating economic growth within the area. The local authorities we may share such data with are: Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES), Bristol County Council, North Somerset Council, and South Gloucestershire Council.

How long will we keep your personal data?

Information which cannot identify you as an individual will be retained beyond the length of your engagement with our services and will be used only for statistical and research purposes by WECA, BEIS and upon their request the local authorities in which your business operates. This information will be retained for a maximum period of 6 years.

Information which can identify you (personal data) will be retained for a maximum period of 6 years. It will be used only for the purposes of the Growth Hub Support Team or other WECA business support staff contacting you to offer further support services to your business. At the end of the 6 year period we may contact you to ask if you would like us to retain your details for a further 6 years. This would enable us to offer you further services.

What happens if you no longer wish to be contacted by the Growth Hub?

You may choose to withdraw your data at any time.

It would be valuable for us to understand why the service we provide is no longer of interest to you. We would ask you for your feedback on your experience and the reasons you would you like no further contact from us. You may choose not to answer these questions. We will respect your wishes and ensure that no further contact is made unless you contact us to tell us you have changed your mind.

You have the right to access the personal data we hold about you

To request a copy of all your personal data you may submit a “Subject Access Request”. This refers to us providing copies of such information to you within one month of a request. Your request for your records must be in writing and may be sent to us by post or email (see contact details below). To confirm your identity your request must include copies of an identity document (e.g. your driving licence or passport) and proof of your address (e.g. a copy of a utilities bill or bank statement). Identity documents will be destroyed once viewed. We will not retain these documents in any format.

You have the right to rectification of any incorrect or incomplete data we hold about you.

Contact for privacy concerns and Subject Access Requests

If you have any concerns or questions about our handling of your personal data, or if you wish to submit a Subject Access Request, please contact:

Information Governance Officer, Growth Hub, West of England Combined Authority, 70 Redcliff Street, Bristol, BS1 6AL.

Or email the Growth Hub Information Governance Officer at democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

Your right to appeal

If you are not satisfied by our response to your concerns You have the right to lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your personal data to the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner, who can be reached using the details below:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: casework@ico.org.uk